War of the Ring: Turn of the Tide
by dan-yoda
Summary: The Accounts of the Seige of Lorien, through Haldir's Eyes
1. Strike One

WAR OF THE RING  
THE TURN OF THE TIDE  
  
BY YODAMAN  
  
It is a dark time for Lothlorien. The Fellowship of the Ring has just left, brining great evil to Lorien, as well as dark times. The warriors of Lorien are exhausted from destroying a company of Moria Orcs that followed the Fellowship to Lorien. There are rumors that the Necromancer has awakened and has rebuilt his fortress of Dol Guldur for one purpose- for the destruction of Lorien. Lady Galadriel has ordered Haldir, captain of the Lorien army, to patrol the borders of Lorien to ensure its safety, but not even that would be enough for the three-pronged assault that awaits them.  
  
STRIKE ONE  
  
Aragrod was your typical elf in the Lorien army. He was fair (like all other elves were), strong, and smart. But he wasn't the absolute greatest fighter in Elvish terms, but against any man, dwarf, or Orc he was indestructible. Today was just a normal day for him- he had to watch out for the enemy on top of a small, wooden hut in a Malorn tree.  
  
"Do you see anything?" asked his guard buddy, Anorlaer.  
  
"Nothing", said Aragrod. "Do you?" There was no answer. "Anorlaer?" Aragrod turned around and saw three arrows in Anorlaer's throat. Several arrows zinged passed his head, and he got right off the tower. Once he was off, he grabbed his horn and started to blow. That was standard procedure, to blow a horn when the enemy was near.  
  
"I hope Haldir is near", thought Aragrod.  
  
For once, Haldir was able to sleep. He was able to have a nice, undisturbed sleep, which was extremely rare for him, being a captain of Lorien and all. Even thought the threat of battle was really high, he had loyal guards watching for the enemy. But once he heard a horn, blowing, he jumped out of bed and grabbed his sword. He woke his hut partner and ran outside.  
  
"AWAKE, YOUNG ELVES! , yelled Haldir. " The enemy is upon us! Fight with honour! Fight with everything you've got! CHARGE! ". Haldir then jumped off the hut and unsheathed his sword. He then ran up to Aragrod, whom he knew blew the horn.  
  
"Aragrod", said Haldir. "What direction did the Orcs come from?"  
  
"The east", said Aragrod. "From Dol Guldur".  
  
"That cursed Fellowship led them here", complained Haldir. "Aragrod, go find Lady Galadriel. Tell her to get Celeborn and his company here. Go as fast as you can."  
  
"Yes sir", said Aragrod. He then ran to his horse horse, Lómroch, and rode off.  
  
"NORO LIM, ARAGROD!" yelled Haldir. Haldir then turned around and looked at the battlefield. There seemed to be chaos everywhere, with Orcs and Elves battling each other in an un-orderly fashion. It was hard to tell who was winning since the Orcs had the element of surprise while the Elves were way better in combat. Since there was no order going on, Haldir had to enforce it.  
  
" ELVES OF LORIEN! ", yelled Haldir. " FALL OUT! ". All the elves then gathered up behind Haldir. It wasn't in the best order since arrows zinged passed all their heads, but Haldir would have to ignore that small annoyance for the meantime.  
  
" On my signal ", yelled Haldir as several arrows zinged past their heads, " Charge at them with everything you've got. One, two, three CHARGE! ". The Elvish army then charged with full strength at the enemy. Once they clashed together, the loud ching of the sword clashed could be heard. Also common noises were the grunting of Orcs, the splattering of blood, and the cries of the wounded elves. These sounds were all too common for Haldir, being a war master for thousands of years. But each time he battled in this fashion, the effect seemed to be different. Every time Elves died, more elves would come in their place and Haldir often befriended them. Some of these soldiers he'd known all his life; some he met only a few decades ago. But seeing them died saddened his heart, but it wasn't sad enough for him. Like every battle he'd fought, he ignored the sounds of death and the smell of ruin and focused on one thing- the battle at hand. Haldir was furious with a sword, swinging it around like paper in the wind, slashing and sticking every Orc in his path. Haldir never wore armor that often, so he always got various cuts and bruises. But he was used to that, and it was nothing that the healer couldn't heal. So the battle went on for hours, with the same old things happening and nothing much going on in the terms of winning. But after a long time of hearing nothing but the sounds of war, Haldir heard something else.  
  
"We're losing", said one orc. "WE'RE DOOMED!"  
  
" Nonsense", said another orc. "We still haven't played with the fire yet ". The other orc then laughed and they ran off. Haldir didn't know the Black Tongue, but he knew something was up. He then ran after the Orcs but several more surrounded him. Haldir then battle the surrounding Orcs, for he had no choice. After killing the surrounding Orcs, Haldir saw what the Orcs were talking about. Several Orkish archers put flames on their arrows and aimed them for the Malorn trees. Several Malorn trees then began to burn, along with the morale of the elvish soldiers.  
  
" FALL BACK! ", commanded Haldir. If there were one thing that no elf of Lorien should see in its life, it would be the burning of a Malorn tree. The Malorns were hailed as some of the most beautiful trees on Middle- Earth (some even called them the most beautiful). Also, the Malorns represented peace and prosperity among all races of Middle-Earth. The burning of a Malorn, however, represented doom and sadness among middle- earth. Also, only the ultimate evil could do an evil act such as that. And all that evil had been done in their eyes.  
  
"See", said an Orc. "They're running".  
  
"I guess we've won the battle, boys", said the Orc commander. " VICTORY! ". All the Orcs then cheered with all the might they got, but their celebration. One of the burning Malorn trees suddenly cracked and began to fall. The Orcs ran, but their fleeing was hopeless. The mighty tree fell on top of them, and the flames consumed them all. The Orcs tried to fight the fire, but they had no means to. The Malorns have won this battle.  
  
"RETREAT! " commanded the Orc commander. All the Orcs then fled the battle scene in order to get away from the flames. The Elves then cheered on their plane of victory.  
  
"We have no victory yet", said Haldir. "First, the Orcs will come back. Necromancer will not be so generous to our people. Also, clean this mess up. The fumes are getting me sick." The Elves then put out the fire in preparation for the next assault to come. 


	2. Strike Two

STRIKE TWO  
  
Aragrod had been riding in his horse for an hour. In only a matter of minutes, he would arrive in the Golden Wood and warn Galadriel of the impending danger. All of a sudden, his horse started getting restless and neighing really loudly.  
  
"What do you see, Lómroch?" asked Aragrod. Then a faint growl could be heard from the distance, and that made Lómroch upset. Aragrod then drew his sword and awaited an attack. For several minutes, no more noise was made. When Aragrod decided to leave, that's when the attack came. A Warg leaped out of the bushed and pounced Lómroch. Aragrod was able to jump off before the Warg attacked, but Lómroch wasn't so lucky. As the Warg ripped apart the doomed horse, Aragrod ran up and sliced its hind legs off. The Warg then cried out in pain as Aragrod stuck his sword through its head.  
  
"No one who touches my horse like that shall live to see the next sunrise", said Aragrod. Then, the Orc who rode the Warg got off the bloodied Warg and drew his blade.  
  
"No one who touches my Warg like that shall live, either", said the Warg rider. The Orc then charged at Aragrod, but he easily deflected his enemy's blow. The two of them kept slashing at each other with no effect. Finally, after several minutes of deflecting, the Orc managed to stick his blade through Aragrod's shoulder. Aragrod then screamed out in pain and stuck his sword through the Orc's gut.  
  
"You know", said the Orc, "Wargs always ride in packs". The Orc then fell down and died. Aragrod then looked at his shoulder and saw that the blade the Orc stabbed him with was poisoned. If he didn't get to a healer soon, he would die quickly. The ride to Lorien was only half an hour's ride, but walking it was about two hours.  
  
"Oh well", thought Aragrod. "I might as well spend the last minutes of my life saving the world I love. He then walked off to go to his destiny, one that would change the Golden Wood forever.  
Haldir and his army hid in the bushes. After the first assault on Lorien, the Elves had then task of taming the fire before more Malorn trees fell. Haldir was able to find a stream only a minute's walk from the battlefield and his army was able to tame the fire. But once that was done and the debris was cleared, Haldir put his next strategy in action. He was going to have his soldiers hide in the bushes and wait for the Orcs to come by. If they were on foot, his soldiers would leap at the army and slash at them from their side. If they were on Wargs or horses, his soldiers would get in front of them with spears before the enemy could stop and their Wargs/horses would die. After hours in the bushes, Haldir heard a faint sound. It was the growling of Wargs.  
  
"Wargs approach ", whispered Haldir. "Draw spears ". All of the Elves then sheathed their swords and picked up their spears. Then the Wargs drew closer, and closer, and closer. And right when they were about to cross their path, Haldir gave the signal.  
  
"NOW!" yelled Haldir. The spearmen then ran right in front of the Wargs and held their spears up to them so the Wargs could be stuck. Once the Wargs in the front row were stopped, several of the remaining Wargs collided with each other. Then the remaining Elves charged at the Wargs with swords and killed them all. In a matter of seconds, every single Warg and Orc was dead. In an Orkish perspective it was a massacre, but in the elvish perspective it was a well-earned victory. But right as they were cheering, several arrows zinged past their heads.  
  
"DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN! " yelled Haldir. "Continue fighting !" But it was very hard for his orders to get across to everyone since they were the ones being ambushed while they were the ones trying to ambush their enemy. Once the enemy drew closer, Haldir drew his sword and fought against the enemy. There was no other way to end the seemingly endless fighting. So that's how the second assault on Lorien began. The fighting lasted several hours with each side gaining many advances and loses on each side. Finally, after six hours of fighting, some relief came to the elves.  
  
"Sir", said one of the Orcs soldiers. "I heard one of the dying elves talk about reinforcements. Sir, if reinforcements come we will lose battle and Necromancer will be very unhappy."  
  
"Yes", said the Orc commander. "He will not tolerate another loss, and neither will I. RETREAT! ." All of the Orcs then broke their battle with the elves and followed their commander out of the battlefield. The elves sent a volley at the Orcs, but only a few dozen fell.  
  
"We did it again!" cheered an elf soldier. "LORIEN IS FINALLY OURS!"  
  
"Not quite", said Haldir. "There will be more and they will come with more forces and more power. We must prepare for that. The battle for Lorien will not be over for quite some time. 


	3. Strike Three

STRIKE 3  
  
Galadriel soaked her feet in the soft, crisp streams of the Golden Wood. A lot of stress had been put on her lately. First, the evil of Sauron had stirred up again, so she had to send her army out on watch for the enemy. Then the Fellowship came into Lorien, bringing great grief and despair to her people. Finally, she had her temptation to take the ring from Frodo in a painful test that nearly destroyed all hope for Middle-Earth. But she passed her test and the Fellowship had been gone for some time, so most of her troubles were behind her. But her first major trouble returned when she saw a young, bloodied soldier of Lorien limp across the water. She then ran up to him and held him.  
  
"What's your name?" asked Galadriel. "What happened?"  
  
"My name is Aragrod", said the Elf soldier. "Lorien has been assailed by Orcs".  
  
"Where?" asked Galadriel.  
  
"To the north", said Aragrod. "From Dol Guldur".  
  
"How many?" asked Galadriel.  
  
"I am not sure", said Aragrod. "But please send Celeborn. He is our only hope".  
  
"I will", said Galadriel. "Would you like me to take you to the healer?" There was no answer from him. Galadriel set him down and looked at his face. He was dead for sure. Galadriel then looked down and her dress and saw that it was soaked with blood. Something had to be done about this. She then left the stream to make his last wish come true.  
  
After the Orcs had retreated, Haldir had ordered the dead to be piled up. So far, the death count had been 5,263 elves and an uncountable amount of Orcs and Wargs. Once that was done, the elves would make get ready for more battle and have a light meal. But the light meal was cut short when the sound of drums echoed through the trees of the Golden Wood. Haldir sent a scout to look and come back to report his findings.  
  
"What do you see?" asked Haldir.  
  
"The drums are being played by drummer trolls" said the scout. "I can see about 10,000 Orcs, and they have catapults. Catapults that launched fire". Haldir then sighed. If Celeborn didn't come soon, they would be massacred and Lorien would fall to Necromancer. That was something that could not happen whatever the cost was.  
  
"Tell the soldiers to prepare for battle", said Haldir. "There will be no surprises or special tactics. It will be a normal, solid battle. We will hold them off for as long as possible and wait for Celeborn to come."  
  
"What if Celeborn doesn't come?" asked the scout.  
  
"Then we will give the enemy the best fight we can give them", said Haldir. " FALL OUT! THE ENEMY APPROACHES! ". The army then ran in place and drew their swords. Haldir then walked in front of them.  
  
"Two times Lorien has been assailed", said Haldir. "TWO TIMES! And this is their third go! This is something that cannot be tolerated! Hundreds of our kin have died trying to protect Lorien, and so far, IT HAS BEEN SUCESSFUL! But I ask you just once now, that you will give your lives for just one last battle, so that we can wait for our aid to come and rid this wood of Necromancer's evil forever! WHAT SAY YOU?" The entire Elf army then raised their swords up and cheered at Haldir. Haldir then unsheathed his sword and turned around.  
  
" CHARGE! ", yelled Haldir. The entire army then ran behind Haldir and cheered as they ran. Once the Orcs say the elves charging, they loaded up their catapults and began launching the enflamed boulders. The boulders managed to land right in the middle of the army, setting the whole wood on fire. But the remaining elves ignored this menace and charged at the enemy. The enemy tried to launch a volley at the elves, but it only killed a few dozen. By the time the enemy got within a few feet from them, the Orcs panicked to unsheathe their swords and charge into battle. But their confidence was broken once the Elves clashed with them. The Orcs in the firsts few rows were unprepared and easily slain, but all the Orcs behind them were prepared for what would face them. The Orcs then charged at the Elves and the true fighting began. The Orcs easily had the upper hand, for they were expecting reinforcements to come. But there were always a few Elves ready to fight against the enemy they hated, and Haldir still led them. Like all battles he had been in, Haldir swung his sword around swiftly and stuck his sword in every orc that stood close to him. But that would all soon change when a bloodied elf crawled up to him.  
  
"Captain", said the elf. "I am sorry I have... disappointed you."  
  
"Nonsense", said Haldir. "You make me proud. I appreciate the soldiers like you who would five their life for Lorien more than the ones that stand around and to nothing so they can live to tell the tale."  
  
"But Celeborn hasn't come yet", said the elf. "We will all surly die".  
  
"Then we shall die a glorious death that shall be remembered by all races", said Haldir.  
  
"Thank...", said the elf, "...you". The Elf then drifted off to the Hall of Mandos where he will stay forever. Somehow, an Orc heard the conversation and ran up to the commander.  
  
"THAT ELF'S THEIR CAPTIAIN!" yelled the orc. "DESTROY HIM!" Then all the Orcs gathered around Haldir and raised their swords. Once the Elves saw that, they all formed a perimeter around Haldir and blocked the Orkish blows. They all tried to destroy the Orcs around Haldir so that he could make it out alive. Even though he was very against this, Haldir knew that if he ordered the elves to back away from him that he would surely die. But he knew he would die once he saw the Orcs arm the drummer trolls with swords. Even though drummer trolls were nowhere near as deadly as their Olog-Hai cousins, they were still formidable foes. So the drummer stomped on everything in their path, including the Orcs. Once they got to the elves, the trolls raised their swords and slashed at the elves. The elves were able to down one troll, but two trolls proved to be too much for them. Soon, all the elves that surrounded Haldir were dead, and Haldir was left. The troll raised his sword to make the killing blow, but a blinding light shone across the plane. Haldir turned around and saw that it was Araternil- the sword of Celeborn. The special thing about Araternil was that it shined a blinding light when unsheathed, and that was its main purpose- to drive Orcs away. So once the light shown on them, the Orcs retreated and the Elves were left alone. Once that mess was over, Haldir walked up to Celeborn and put his hand on his soldier.  
  
"Thank the Valar you are here!" exclaimed Haldir. "Many of my warriors were certain you would not come! Let's go home and celebrate with feasts and Miruvórë!"  
  
"Not now", said Celeborn. "One more task Lady Galadriel has assigned us to. To Dol Guldur we go!" 


	4. Fall of Necromancer

THE FALL OF NECROMANCER  
  
Groshmag was your typical Orc in Necromancer's army. He was repulsive (like most Orcs were), brutal, and not that bright. He wasn't the absolute best fighter in Orkish terms, but give him a living thing and he could rip it apart in a matter of seconds. Today was just a normal day for him- he had to watch out for the enemy on top of a small, wooden hut in the fortress of Dol Guldur.  
  
"Do you see anything?" asked his guard buddy, Brokmâ  
  
"If you shut up I might", said Groshmag. Brokmâ then unsheathed a sword and held it close to Groshmag.  
  
"You have to make me shut up", exclaimed Brokmâ.  
  
"THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO DO!" yelled Groshmag while unsheathing his sword.  
  
Groshmag then slashed at Brokmâ, but he blocked every blow. Groshmag then kicked Brokmâ's leg and then stuck his sword through his gut. Groshmag then cheered and began to eat Brokmâ. But then, a blinding light flashed through Dol Guldur and blinded every orc that inhabited the foul place. Groshmag then turned around and saw what was making the foul light- it was Araternil, the sword of death.  
  
Immediately after the battle, the fire in the woods was put out and the dead were buried. But before the Necromancer could learn of his defeat, Haldir, Celeborn, Galadriel, and a few dozen soldiers were sent to march upon the plains of Dol Guldur. Many elves argued that they should rest before marching into battle, but Haldir assured them that the lady had something in mind. So when they marched into Dol Guldur, Celeborn unsheathed Araternil and shone the light upon the evil city.  
  
"Show us what you've got", said Celeborn. Galadriel then raised her hands as if to chant a spell and began to sing an incantation.  
  
"IM LIN I THULË EVA I RAM", began Galadriel. "IM GON HIN RAM!" She then slammed her fists to the ground and something spectacular happened. The walls began of Dol Guldur began to came in. Everyone knew that it must've been Galadriel's spell that made the walls go down, but no one cared at the moment. All everyone cared about at the moment was the destruction of the evil that had befallen them all their lives. After many ages, the evils of Necromancer had finally left the Golden Wood forever.  
  
After the grand battle a feast was held. There was dancing, eating, drinking (Miruvórë was the popular drink of the day), the telling of tales, and the showing off of skills. The main feature was the roasted Warg (it was taken off of the battlefield and roasted), but many preferred the great cake that was made for the celebration. Right after the walls fell, only a few dozen Orcs remained in the way of Celeborn and company, and they easily destroyed them. Even though there were only a few, Haldir and the rest of the soldiers were telling tales of themselves battling thousands of bloodthirsty Orcs in the grand ruin of Dol Guldur. After a few hours of feasting, Galadriel stood in front of them to give a speech.  
  
"Elves of Lorien", began Galadriel, "today is a day to remember. Disaster has befallen us time and time again, and today is no different. Three times has Lorien been assaulted by Necromancer's troops, but Haldir and company defended Lorien each time with grand success. Thousands of elves had fallen in defense of our land, and thousands more would've died unless one brave elf soldier, covered in poisoned blood, hadn't come to me and told me of the impending danger. Because of this daring feat of bravery, my husband came to the battlefield with Araternil and chased the Orcs away with its bright light. And right after that, the Elves of Lorien still had the power in them to go to Dol Guldur itself and tear down the walls of Necromancer! Remember today as the day that your kin gave their lives to defend the city that you know stand in. Remember today as the day that four great battle in a row were fought and all were won in a grand stand! Remember today as the day the Necromancer was chased out of this world and never to come back. REMEMBER TODAY!"  
  
"HAIL!" cheered the entire crowd. The crowd then went back to their feasting and their merry times, times that would last for hundreds of ages to come.  
  
THE END 


End file.
